This is a key time in our nation’s history when progressives can Take Back America.

The country has gone from peace to war, from prosperity to recession, from relief to terror. Working families are paying the price: Wages are down. Unemployment is up. Retirement security is down. Poverty is up. Classrooms are crowded and preschool programs scaled back.

President Bush’s conservative policies simply make things worse for families in America. A series of national polls show that his approval ratings are below 50% and people believe he’s put the country on the wrong track. Many Republicans are distancing themselves from his reckless tax cuts and preemptive wars. The 2004 election is a referendum on President Bush’s policies abroad and at home.

Enter, stage left, the new progressive movement. An unprecedented amount of political activity is happening outside the formal campaigns this election year. Activists are building an independent movement that can challenge the right-wing and change America.

Moveon.org’s 2 million U.S. activists make it larger than the Christian Coalition at its peak. The ground forces of America Coming Together are on the rise. There is a surge in progressive activity, seen in the massive turnout at the March for Women’s Lives and in the number of best selling progressive titles. Media organizations like Air America Radio Network debuted and The Nation became the largest circulating political and social opinion weekly in America. The Center for American Progress was born and the Institute for America’s Future charted record growth.

This week, thousands of activists will gather at the Campaign for America’s Future Take Back America conference to discuss forging a new majority for progressive reform.

The conference will rally progressives for this year’s political debate, but its focus is more than one election. It is intended to build the movement — the ideas, the message, the issue campaigns and coalitions — that will offer Americans a clear alternative to the failed policies of the right and that can Take Back America.

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**NOTE: For an updated schedule of the Campaign for America’s Future “Take Back America” conference, please visit www.ourfuture.org. For more information, please contact Toby Chaudhuri at 202-955-5665 x133 or chaudhuri@ourfuture.org.**

The Campaign for America's Future (CAF) is a center for ideas and action that works to build an enduring majority for progressive change. The Campaign advances a progressive economic agenda and a vision of the future that works for the many, not simply the few. The Campaign is leading the fight for America's priorities - for good jobs and a sustainable economy, and for strengthening the safety net.